In my article published in the September 14, 2007 issue of the Stabroek Business and titled “The Strategies for Sustainable Growth in the CSME”, I made reference to Dr. Norman Girvan’s presentation titled ‘Single Development Vision’ for sustainable development in which he proposed a model of economic growth based on strong international competitiveness, innovation, productivity, and flexibility of resource use. I mentioned in that article that one of the three strategies which companies in Guyana that are interested in pursuing the opportunities that inhere in Dr. Girvan’s model must adopt is the realization of ISO 9001:2000 certification.
The ISO 9000 – 2000 standards are quality measurements that help set standards for international trade . ISO 9001, in particular, is a quality management standard that places the onus on a company to meet a customer’s minimum level of expectation. ISO 9001 is based on the -plan-do-check-act methodology, which can play a pivotal role in helping companies in Guyana establish and implement quality and monitor and measure results.
The basic objective of the ISO 9001:2000 standard is to realize consistent customer satisfaction through the following:
* A well defined management and process system.
* Clearly defined business objectives that are measurable
and understood.
* A management plan on how the stated objectives will be
achieved.
* Management reviews of its system to ensure continuing
suitability and effectiveness.
My own experience of business enterprises in Guyana is that one or more of these basic tenets is often missing from the management structure, a circumstance that results in failure to meet customer expectations. The point that I wish to make at this juncture has to do with the differing levels of customer expectation that apply on the domestic and the external markets. In short, goods and services that are being produced for export are always confronted with higher customer expectations, a reality that ought to be borne in mind by Guyanese producers seeking to take advantage of regional markets under the provisions of the CSME.
The point should be made that small and medium sized businesses – and the vast majority of businesses in Guyana can be categorized as small and medium sized – actually have an outstanding chance of realizing the ISO 9000 standard since those businesses, by their nature, actually lend themselves easier to effective communication between management and worker. Additionally, the realization of the ISO 9000 standard in the small business sector is rendered easier by the fact that both the production process and the product or service are generally less complex than those of larger companies.
I have collaborated with the Guyana National Bureau of Standards to help some local companies on the first step in the ISO 9001 implementation process. During that assignment a gap analysis – a system that assesses the gap between a company’s actual performance and the ISO 9001:2000 standard – was employed. My experience was that most of those companies were actually in a position to be ISO 9001:2000 compliant in less than twelve months. The probability of success hinged on the level of human and financial capital that those companies were prepared to invest in the pursuit of that goal. To the best of my knowledge only two of those companies have obtained ISO 9001:2000 certifications.
During the course of my association with those companies I was able to identify several critical reasons why their pursuit of the ISO standard failed. In many instances thatr failure was linked to lack of management commitment. In this regard it was evident that some managers were paying no more than lip service to the ISO objective and this inevitably led to cynicism and mistrust on the part of the workers. Some business houses in Guyana are yet to understand that the successful implementation of the ISO standard necessitates a clearly communicated purpose and consistency in the application of ISO principles.
Some of the entities with which I was associated also appeared to have a difficulty in altering their traditional organizational culture. Whether through fear of change or refusal to change I found that some organizations were simply not inclined to put those systems in place that are an essential prerequisite to the realization of the ISO standard.
I also found that some entities faced problems associated with implementation. The implementation of ISO in any organization must be preceded by companywide commitment to the process. Since the worker is a critical part of the production process through which the standard is realized, nothing can be accomplished unless that worker “buys into” the process.
I recall that there were instances in which management indifference may actually have served to compromise worker commitment.
The efficient collection and application of data is critical to the creation of an ISO environment. Unfortunately, several small businesses in Guyana are not inclined to apply data to the management of their operations. Some small businesses have little or no measurement processes while others rely on ineffective measurement techniques that reflect a limited knowledge of the role of statistics. Failure to maintain accurate and reliable data are guarantees for lack of success in the pursuit of ISO standards.
Finally, I found examples of decision makers who had not been trained in basic quality principles and therefore did not understand how to create an environment in which standards could thrive.
The productive sector in Guyana needs to bear in mind that a poorly implemented ISO process can do terminal damage to a company’s performance and, in the long term, can threaten its very existence. From Guyana’s standpoint this consideration is all the more important in the context of increasingly competitive regional and global markets. Nor should the producers of goods and services for export markets assume that the realization of the ISO 9001:2000 standard is the only measure of quality. Speed and effectiveness of problem solving and decision making, efficient project management and product and service innovations all help to provide a competitive edge As was mentioned in my article published on September 14, the use of Lean Six Sigma, a powerful quality, efficiency and effectiveness tool ought to be part of the strategy for a successful and sustainable customer centric ISO9001:2000 effort.